Boot Camp No Secrets – Answers Part 2

~ShR – Who looked more confident in the off-air penalty shootout? I assumed Nsami, but as I recall he missed a penalty in the shootout. Who has the best chance of being their performer next season?

– Joal, Rosolik, Lukenhas and Kapustka were the most likely to take penalties, but what impressed us most was the way Ultima took the eleven. His nervous system seemed to have stopped working, and his shots were undefendable. The decision on who will play the eleven has not yet been made, but we cannot forget Bickhardt, who rarely commits a foul from eleven metres in training.

~ Baron – Will Legia players shoot the ball from distance more than they have been used to lately?

– Whether in sparring or during training, Elitim, Kapustka and Strzalek were keen to hit the target from outside the penalty area. Goncalves can do it, although he is usually a little further from the goal than the ones mentioned, he does it more often. The coaches also encourage Luquinhas to shoot from distance, but the Brazilian prefers to pass the ball to his teammates. There was no shortage of shots from distance during the camp or sparring, but it also depends on how the opponent plays and their positioning. Everything will be verified by the betting matches.

~ Wazka1916 – Who will be assigned to set pieces?

– Free kicks during the camp, both direct and indirect, were most often taken by Elitim, Kapustka and Strzalek. Luquinhas also came close to the average ones. We believe it will be similar in competitive matches – Elitim will be number one.

~ JohnoQ – Legendary intensity. What was it like during training camp? What did those sparring sessions accomplish in strange time frames? Did the coach win/convince the team to his vision? Isn’t it obvious yet?

– The intensity during the camp, but also before and after, is simply much greater than before. Goncalo Feio demands maximum commitment, according to the principle, how you train is how you play. There are 5 minutes of high-intensity play, then a short rest, hydration, and again 5-7 minutes of full commitment. Footballers emphasize this in conversations, but they also feel it. Those who get used to it will advance later in the match and will be able to play with high pressure without any problems. Observing the best teams in Europe, most of them rely on high-intensity play, this is the current trend in football and this is how you should train – even considering that in the initial period there will be a little more injuries.

– What brought the debate in strange time frames? The longer the preparation period, the longer the players played. The idea was to make sure that each player could play in a similar time frame – first 45 minutes, then 60 minutes, and recently, when there were two friendlies in a row, 90 minutes of play. The coach likes this method of preparation and praises it and declares that he will use it during subsequent preparation periods.

– Has Veio convinced the players to accept his vision? It seems so. This comes from both formal and private conversations. Players are somewhat impressed by the intrinsic knowledge and see the meaning behind what they are doing, and believe it will bring results. But it is well known that the most important thing is the results, and if there are results, everyone will be convinced that the coach’s vision is correct. Failure to achieve results can shake this belief, as it always does.

~ ArtiQ – Does the fact that the game is not based on a single player (Josue) affect the smoothness of the movement and the responsibility of a larger number of players for the game, or is there a clear lack of a high-end game maker?

– The game will certainly look different without José than with him. José liked to make the game by passing the ball from deep or from the side, thus opening up the way for his teammates in front of goal. Now Luquinhas likes to run with the ball for twelve metres or so, bring the ball into the penalty area, thus scoring many free kicks. But another way to play the game is to make many passes in the middle of the pitch and pass the ball to each other quickly and thus look for free spaces or teammates in better positions. Whether there is Goncalves, Luquinhas, Elitim or Kapustka, Strzalek and Urbanski in midfield, each of these players has the burden of building the movement. The system will also change – there will be no “two tens” but “two eights” and “sixes”.

~ArtiQ – Does Jędza’s captaincy mean he has a certain place in the starting lineup? Is he expected to be in the defensive block?

– No one has a specific place in the team. The captaincy is a decision of the team and the coach, who also voted for Jędrzejczyk. It is a joint and democratic decision and a sign of appreciation for Artur’s experience and role in the locker room and on the pitch. However, among the captains there are also Bartosz Kapustka and Rafalá Augustyniak, and right behind them, Pawel Wyszolek was one vote less in the vote. It is likely that these four will wear the captain’s armband alternately.

– At the start of the camp, the three main defenders were Pankov, Augustiniak and Kapudzi. When the Serb got injured, he was replaced by Jędrzejczyk. Ziółkowski puts a lot of pressure on his older teammates, and Barcia is expected to join the team soon. The defensive lineup is sure to change.

~ ArtiQ – Which of the new additions makes the difference since the beginning of the preparations and there is no need to wait for the legendary integration into the team?

– Definitely Claude Goncalves, who has shown the right quality in the team since day one and fits into Legia’s system without any problems. We like this player’s style of play, the very aggressive tackles, but also his willingness to participate in offensive actions.

~ Pdrz Forever – Currently, who is Legia’s No. 1 goalie?

– Although all goalkeepers played a similar number of minutes in the friendly, it seems that there will be no change in the hierarchy between the posts. Kacper Tobiasz will start the season in the first place.

~ Wazka1916 – Is there a chance to buy some young talent abroad, like Muci or Duda?

– That is, young players, under 20 years old and with enormous potential, are already good enough to play in the first team, but still have reserves to become a better player. It seems to us that every sporting director wants to have such players, after all, this transfer later becomes his calling card. Given the current situation and the plans for cooperation with the academy, all this must be carefully studied so that such a player does not block the place of a young and promising player. But is there a chance for such players? This is no longer a question for us. But we are convinced that if there is a chance to bring someone like this, Legia will be fully prepared to make such a transfer.

~ technojezus – Hi, will Maciej Rosołek be loaned/sold somewhere for next season?

– At the club, Marc Goual, Jean-Pierre Nsami and Thomas Bickhardt will definitely remain in the striker position. Blaz Kramer will soon leave the team, arrangements are being made between the player and the Turkish club. His place will definitely be replaced by someone from Lazienkowska Street. With four strikers and two forwards, one of them, Maciej Rosołek and Jordan Majchrzak, will have to change the environment in order to develop. “Rossi” is not ready to change employers, he gets to know Legia and wants to play in Warsaw. But of course, it is not his decision to stay, but the coach’s. On the other hand, Majchrzak has a lot of potential, he is currently the most effective in the sparring. The question remains what is best for him, a period in the first team or maybe on loan and playing regularly? The decision has not been made yet.

~ F – Is there a topic about Tobias leaving? Will Mendes-Dudzinski eventually become the number 2 goalkeeper? Who could replace Kapwadi?

– Today, there is no topic about Kacper Tobiasz leaving Legia. Although this can change at any time. Marcel Mendes-Dudziński will eventually be the first-choice goalkeeper, and next season he will be the number three, playing regularly in the second team.

– Who could be Kapwadi’s replacement? Most often, young Viktor Karolak played in his position, that is, left half-back, during training camps and in scrimmages. But if necessary, will the coach decide on such a solution in a competitive match? We do not know.

~ Turysta97 – Is the widespread praise for coach Few’s skills by the players just a compliment or is there something to it? If so, what are the differences compared to previous coaches? Are there individual classes for footballers, as Kaz Sokolowski once did under Berg?

– I think this is not a compliment, because in private conversations, the players also expressed their admiration for working with coach Veo. We also liked the coach’s training and his style of work. What are the differences? There are many – from the intensity that has already been written about a lot, to the clear and immediate delivery of feedback. Gonçalo picks up the slightest mistakes very quickly, whether moving with or without the ball, and reports them immediately. Usually most of these comments are directed at the younger players who have more to learn. But everything is in order for them to become better and better. What sets Veo apart from his predecessors is the time he dedicates to the players – you stay and practice something with a player, he stays and does it, even if it takes an extra two hours. If necessary, he invites the players to a longer conversation – probably every player has already had a conversation.

– The staff is currently very large, there are Emanuel Ribeiro, Grzegorz Mokry, José Asien Clemente, Daniel Wojtasz, Maciej Krzymzyn. It often happens that one of the assistants takes a group of 3-4 players and does something with them – sometimes finishing situations in the penalty area, sometimes taking over the direction. These are the things that make up the elements of football skill, and in fact, sometimes they resemble the work that Kaz Sokolowski did in Henning Berg’s staff.

~ Turysta97 – Media statements from footballers (including Augustyniak, Kapustka) said that the youngsters performed exceptionally well and did not lower their athletic level. Was that so? How does this compare to previous training camps?

– Yes, they did not lower their athletic level – that’s true. Of course, as in every group, some of the youngsters performed better, some worse. But it wasn’t that they were lagging behind, or that their seniors were upset with them, or that they didn’t want to be in a team with anyone because it would devalue the team. All the youngsters were full participants in the classes, and were not used only to fulfill training assumptions, especially in terms of numbers. Ziółkowski, Leszczyński and Urbanski made the best impression on us.

~ SEBA – Do any of the outfield players train with the goalkeepers? There is always one designated player who can stand in goal in case of a red card or injury and there is no possibility of substitution in the match. Who in Legia would score the goal in such a situation?

– Sometimes, for example, one of the outfield players stands in goal and defends a penalty kick or a long-range shot. If such a need arises, Artur Jędrzejczyk is probably the closest to taking on such a role.

~ (L)ukasz – What’s the situation with Marco Borsch? #Gathering without secrets

– Marco Borsch injured his right leg muscle during a reserve match in Nowy Dłowice Mazowiecki at the beginning of April. In May he felt better, the rehabilitation process was going well, he tried to return to the game in the last rounds of the previous season, trained with the team, but felt pain and left training. Since then he has been undergoing treatment, rehabilitation and individual training. Nobody wants to rush anything anymore, the athlete must heal the injury and only then increase the training load. Given the length of Marco’s break from training, it seems that he will need time to catch up and regain his fitness. For this reason, we believe that Borsch will be available to the coaching staff within two months at the earliest.